Beautiful high-flyer proves an elusive target

THE INFINITE AIR<br><b>Fiona Kidman</b><br><i>Vintage</i>
THE INFINITE AIR<br><b>Fiona Kidman</b><br><i>Vintage</i>
In selecting Jean Batten's story to tell, Fiona Kidman has chosen one of the most intriguing of heroines; and one whose life would appear to be full of contradictions.

She was not only brave but beautiful, yet chose her mother's company for most of her life. She courted fame, yet retreated from it after she had won it. Although hugely admired in her home country, she died in obscurity in a foreign land.

Being born in the same year as Louis Bleriot's first crossing of the English Channel seemed to seal Batten's fate. Her mother, the parent who pinned a newspaper copy of his feat above her daughter's cot, was the fiercely dominant influence in her life, with a determination as strong as her daughter's to see her achieve fame as an aviatrix.

Batten's story is told from her childhood in Rotorua, through to a disruptive pattern of schooling, and on to extensive training as a dancer and pianist. Although it was a childhood marred by parental discord, with battles between a constantly unfaithful father and a strong-minded theatrical mother, she was a high achiever.

I knew of her fame as a record-breaking pioneer in aviation, but it was a revelation to learn her talent as a pianist might have led to a career in that direction.

In a recent interview, Fiona Kidman described this book as the most difficult she has written. Her difficulties become obvious as you progress through this life story of one of our most famous but mysterious New Zealanders. As a reader, you want to know where Jean Batten's ambitions began, what made her persevere through each major setback, how she funded her exploits. Did she experience real terror?

Was her personal life sacrificed for her ambition?

Kidman has tried to find answers in the form of a novel, but this choice can be frustrating for the reader, as you attempt to sort out fiction from fact. She had access to the three books written by Batten, plus the official biography, but Batten's family refused to let her read her subject's unpublished memoirs.

This means having to put trust in the author's version of things. What does emerge - as well as admiration for Jean Batten's remarkable feats - are some stunning images of her flights and Kidman's sympathy, liking and respect for her main character.

- Patricia Thwaites is a retired Dunedin schoolteacher.

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